Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Ivan Foy (72) will be counted on to fill the shoes of Justin Pugh this season after Pugh was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round of the NFL Draft. Foy converted from guard to tackle during the offseason.
(Frank Ordonez | The Post-Standard)

Perles, whom head coach Scott Shafer plucked from the Kansas City Chiefs, said one of his main tasks -- after identifying his five starting linemen -- would be to find the sixth-best player and turn him into a utility guy capable of sliding in almost anywhere should the need arise.

But four months later his tone has changed, according to starting center Macky MacPherson. He has devalued the number six and focused instead on the number two. As in each starter's backup.

"I think right now Coach Perles understands -- because we went through the spring -- that we have guys that are specifically different parts of the line," MacPherson said at the ACC Football Kickoff on Sunday. "Coach Perles now understands that, and we're really trying to develop everyone's second guy."

With the departures of Zack Chibane and Justin Pugh, two players that anchored the SU offensive line last season, Perles was tasked with finding and molding replacements. It appears that a pair of sophomores, Nick Robinson and Ivan Foy, will fill those starting spots in 2013, and MacPherson is very confident in their development.

But Shafer said he is still nervous about adroitly replacing the two players that paved the way for tailbacks Jerome Smith and Prince-Tyson Gulley to top 2,000 yards last season. He feels the same way about the holes along the offensive line as he does about the vacant quarterback spot -- "concerned."

"To try to become a cohesive unit those kids have to create a trust in one another," Shafer said. "Nick and Ivan and Trudy and Macky -- all those kids up front -- along with Sean Hickey, those guys have to have a bond."Talking to Macky, he's excited that this group is starting to become that type of group. We'll see. We'll get them on the field.

"But yeah, I've got great concerns with the flow of how that's going to go down."

MacPherson said that Perles, who has now spent a few months with his players, is beginning to understand the talents of each individual more deeply. Rather than find a No. 6 and 7 offensive lineman that can fill four or five positions, he realizes the skill sets may not branch out that way.

As an example, MacPherson said Kyle Knapp, a 6-foot-4-inch, 284-pound redshirt freshman, is much better suited to play tackle than guard. So he is playing mostly tackle. And Omari Palmer, another 6-foot-2-inch, 309-pound redshirt freshman, "isn't much of a tackle," so he's playing both guard positions and a bit of center.

"It kind of waterfalls its way down, and it's been really effective to get these guys going," MacPherson said. "By the time we're gone, they can help out the freshmen coming in and just keep a good cycle going."

If form holds true and Robinson and Foy win the starting spots, there will be pressure on some of the younger backups to make the leap and be ready to play in case of emergency. Foy filled in for Pugh during the first month of 2012 when Pugh was recovering from shoulder surgery, and Robinson saw time on special teams. But the quintet of Knapp, Palmer, center Jason Emerich, guard John Miller and tackle Daniel Anyaegbunam -- the five backups on SU's most recent depth chart -- has never seen the field at the Division I level.

Yet they will more than likely be called upon at some point this season.

"It's going to be a work in progress and figuring out a lot of things early in camp," Shafer said.

MacPherson remains confident. He said Robinson and Foy have been working hard to learn the playbook during the offseason, and he said he has the "utmost faith" in them. All that's left to be seen is what happens when the whistle blows, the game is real and, as MacPherson put it, the "bullets start flying."

"There's going to be some growing pains with them, I understand that, but it's not like I'm helping them along," MacPherson said. "They're doing it by themselves. I'm just there to mentor there if they ask for it. If they need the help, I'm here for them. And they know that."